Cherokee Nation leader meets with Biden, says infrastructure plan can help preserve culture and language
The chief of one of Oklahoma’s tribes has been invited to speak with President Joe Biden in a virtual meeting with governors and other tribal chiefs across the country. Senior Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., Chief of the Cherokee Nation, and others came together virtually to discuss infrastructure and the bipartisan bill that was passed by the Senate, sending more than $ 11 billion to the country Indian Across the United States “I think of my grandfather living in a generation where a tribal leader probably wouldn’t have been invited to this kind of meeting,†Hoskin said. Hoskin told KOCO 5 that the money will be used to basically preserve Cherokee culture. “When you have communities that don’t have internet access and we have too much of it on the reserve, you end up lacking in the ability of people to connect with the rest of the world,” he said. The lack of high-speed internet affects the Hoskin tribe in several ways. “Children who do not have the same access to learning as their peers in other school systems. Elders who cannot benefit of telemedicine available to our seniors because they don’t have a connection, “Hoskin said. He said the lack of internet was impacting healthcare, commerce, education and even the culture of the Cherokee Nation. fluent speakers left. Most of them are over 70, which is a shocking statistic in itself, “Hoskin said. These elders hold the culture, the history and the Cherokee language in their hands. “So how do we connect hungry youth to learn the language with elders who still have it? Well, it does it virtually, especially in the midst of this public health crisis that we find ourselves in and where we need to stay apart, â€Hoskin said. He hopes the Internet and a faster Internet are the keys to keeping their language alive. turns out that broadband is the key to saving one of the world’s most important and endangered languages, â€Hoskin said. Hoskin also told KOCO 5 that the lack of the internet is causing their small communities to wither away, saying we live in a time when you can live in a remote area and still make a living in global commerce if you can. connect to it. He added that if you can’t connect to the world around you, eventually people will move out, and those communities that were once vibrant hubs are gone.
The chief of one of Oklahoma’s tribes has been invited to speak with President Joe Biden in a virtual meeting with governors and other tribal chiefs across the country.
Senior Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., Chief of the Cherokee Nation and others came together virtually to discuss infrastructure and the bipartisan bill that was passed by the Senate, sending over $ 11 billion to the Indian country across the United States.
“I think of my grandfather living in a generation where a tribal leader probably wouldn’t have been invited to this kind of meeting,†Hoskin said.
Hoskin told KOCO 5 that the money will basically be used to preserve Cherokee culture.
“When you have communities that don’t have internet access and we have too much of it on the reserve, what you end up doing is you have gaps in the ability of people to connect with the rest. of the world, “he said.
The lack of high speed internet affects the Hoskin tribe in several ways.
“Children who do not have the same access to learning as their peers in other school systems. Seniors who can’t take advantage of the telemedicine available to our seniors because they don’t have a connection, â€Hoskin said.
He said the lack of the internet is impacting the health care, commerce, education, and even culture of the Cherokee Nation.
“We have 2,000 fluent speakers left. Most of them are over 70, which is a shocking statistic in itself,†Hoskin said.
These elders hold the Cherokee culture, history and language in their hands.
“So how do we connect the young people who are hungry to learn the language with the elders who still own the language? Well, it is done virtually, especially in the midst of this public health crisis that we find ourselves in and where we are. have to stay separate, â€Hoskin said.
He hopes the Internet and a faster Internet are the keys to keeping their language alive.
“It turns out that broadband is the key to saving one of the world’s most important and endangered languages,†Hoskin said.
Hoskin also told KOCO 5 that the lack of the internet is causing their small communities to wither away, saying we live in a time when you can live in a remote area and still make a living in global commerce if you can. connect to it. He added that if you can’t connect with the world around you, eventually people will move out and those communities that were once vibrant hubs will disappear.